Falloutstuck
by BrokoroBrotato
Summary: John Egbert is one of the few survivors of a post-apocalyptic nuclear war that took place many years before he was born, scavenging through the wastelands of the Mojave in the year 2281. Although violence and radiation is all he has known, he doesn't have to battle through starvation and the mutated animals of the desert alone. Will he be able to get to New Vegas alive?
1. Chapter 1

❶

John woke up to the sound of static, its electricity scream filling the dark room he had decided to stay in the night before. That sound was horrible, and he was sure if he didn't turn it off soon, an unexpecting animal was sure to come and check it out. The brunette regrettably pulled himself out of his makeshift bed of old torn blankets and a cushion he found digging around in the room, and reached over for his glasses. Blinking to adjust to the lenses and the dim light, he got a better view of the room, looking towards the sound of the static before crawling over and scooping up his beat up walkie-talkie.

It sounded like someone was trying to talk on the other end, but it was near to impossible trying to figure out what they were saying. When it sounded like the talking was dimming down a bit to give him a chance to speak, he pressed the button on the side of the handset.

"Hey, whatever you're trying to say, nobody else can hear. Do you mind changing your frequency?"

John listened to the static for a couple moments before it suddenly went away, letting out a soft sigh before crawling back over to his bed. The sun hadn't even come up yet and someone thought it would be a good idea to try to contact somebody. Some people just weren't fit for this wasteland. Even if it were an emergency and they were trying to get help, how would anyone know where they are? And who would help them in the first place? He contemplated this as he lay there, watching the sun rise through a couple cracks in a boarded up window on the other side of the room. Would he put his own life on the line to save someone else?

The Egbert knew he would for his friends. Even though they had never actually met him in person, they all talked and cared about each other. He recalled the first day he had come into contact with them, when he had discovered the crappy walkie-talkie from digging around in some old building and fixed it up. The static that used to scare him now brought him joy to know that someone was trying to get into contact with him. Speaking of which, he should have been getting contacted pretty soon.

John and his friends had this sort of process. When the sun went up, they would all take turns contacting one another, thus reassuring that whoever was contacting them wasn't someone who had stolen or possibly even killed the person who had originally had the walkie-talkie. It was depressing to think about, someone hurting his friend and not even being able to help them, but it was just the way things were here in the wasteland. It had taken awhile to work out the process with the other three, but it was time well spent.

After working on prying a can of… well, a can… open to get whatever edible substance was still inside, the walkie-talkie went off again. This time he could actually understand the voice, and set down the can with a wide grin on his face before picking up the device.

"Good morning, John. I hope you had a goodnight's rest."

"Morning. I wouldn't say it was the best night's sleep, but I slept nonetheless."

He heard a small hum of amusement from the other end. "Well, contact the others and find something to eat. We have another big day of travel ahead of us."

"Okay. Thanks Rose."

It was short and sweet and to the point, but he knew it was probably because Rose thought the more time spent traveling, the quicker they would get a chance to see each other. The messy haired boy switched the frequency on the walkie-talkie before pressing the corroded button on the side.

"Hey Jade, you there?"

It took a couple moments for her to respond. "Hey John! How've you been?"

"I'm doing alright. Rose seems to be in a hurry though, so we better head out soon."

"Aw, okay. Let me go get Bec and call Dave, then I'll head out."

"Okay. Be safe!"

He let out another sigh and set the device aside before he reached over for the can of food once more. It was hard going down -but what wasn't these days? - and John was sure this thing had to have at least a couple joules of radiation, but it was food. Whatever, he have a lead belly anyways.

It only took a couple moments to pack everything up, slinging his bag over his shoulders and strapping a hammer to his belt. Sure, it wasn't the best means of defense, but he was pretty confident nobody would be getting close to him as long as he had C.A.S.E.Y. He had no idea what it stood for, only that this bot was coded to protect him for some reason. Being born after the wars, it was a rarity to find something like C.A.S.E.Y., but that was the perk of staying around places long enough to explore.

As the rugged clothed boy stepped into the harsh light of the radiation filled desert, he looked over to find the battle worn robot charging itself in the sun. It was solar powered, and all he had to do when he found it was drag it out of an old shack, which wasn't easy considering how heavy the thing was. He was lucky to find some ammunition to go along with it, and every so often would pass through a developing town to buy some more when the bot was getting low.

C.A.S.E.Y. started up as it usually did when he walk past, taking a couple moments to hover a few feet above the ground before following after him. John pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as the sphere shaped bot picked up speed until it was floating in front of him, keeping a steady pace and always staying a few feet away. Jade constantly told him about her dog, Bec, but he was pretty sure C.A.S.E.Y. was a million times better. Even if the boy didn't receive unconditional love from this antennae strewn bot, it was always there to protect him. And it was just plain freaking awesome!

John looked back at the small shelter he had left behind as he climbed a small rocky incline, turning away from it and staring at the ground in front of him as he scrambled up the hill. Once he was at the top, he had a good view of what was ahead. To the left there was a small mountain range, but from stories he had heard passing through small towns, nobody wanted to go up there unless they were looking for a way to die. In front of him there was an expanse of lifeless desert, but it would be stupid to say lifeless. There were plenty of mutated animals and people waiting to jump him in that sun baked stretch of dehydrated sand, and he knew it because it looked exactly the same as the place he had just come from. Sand blew into John's face when he turned to study the land to the right of him, and he reached up the rub dust away from his glasses. Off into the distance, he saw a small developing town, almost as big as the one he had been to a few days ago. It would probably be best to go in that direction and get some supplies, because either way he went he would still be heading towards his overall destination.

Out there in the wastelands of the Mojave Desert, there was a place that every waste-lander talked about. It was still as crime ridden as before the war, but the flashing of lights on the horizon when the sun went down brought something like hope into the minds of curious settlers and wasteland Mercs. They called it New Vegas. It used to be a huge city run by gambling and money, but now the tall buildings that still stood were a beacon of life. That's where he and his friends had decided to meet up, because not only would they have a place to start over new, but they would also have friends by their side too.

Just thinking about it made John giddy with excitement, and he started down the hill towards the small town he had spotted in the distance. The boy kept his gaze locked on the speck of life on the horizon, watching it get closer as the time passed. He was about a mile away, the sun high in the sky and causing beads of sweat to run down his forehead, when the sound of C.A.S.E.Y.'s lasers had him spinning his head in the bot's direction.

Cazadors. Giant, mutated tarantula hawk wasps that somehow managed to survive in the desert along with all the other odd animals that lived in the Mojave. Thing was, these bugs weren't something any waste-lander was prepared to mess with. Adrenaline started pumping through his body along with fear, making him speed up his pace until he was sprinting towards the small town in front out him. The sound of C.A.S.E.Y.'s lasers, the red flashing against the hot sand, only got closer as he picked up speed. He looked quickly over his shoulder and watched in horror as the giant insects buzzed right past the bot, the sound of their huge wings propelling them towards him. They had lost all interest in C.A.S.E.Y., and the bot was working hard to bring down a couple, but they both were horrendously outnumbered.

John tried to push forwards even faster as the sound of their buzzing got louder, looking over his shoulder once more just in time to dunk away from one of their giant stingers. He lost his balance as it flew over him, the metallic amber-orange reflectiveness of its wings a beautiful contrast to its hideously pitch black, hairy body. He was reaching for the hammer strapped to his belt as the others caught up, their buzzing filling his ears as he studied their quick and erratic flight pattern that made them almost impossible to hit. C.A.S.E.Y. was still trying hard to shoot a couple of the giant insects, lasers flying past John in the process. The spikes on the back of a Cazador's spine rose before it charged towards him, stinger first. He barely had time to react before he heard the piercing noise of a rifle and the giant insect's head was blown off. Thick, mucus-like blood splatters over the boy's body before the carcass crashes into him, landing on top of him as he fell to the ground.

He wasn't quite sure what happened after that, the noise of bullets flying over his head mixing in with the sound of Cazador buzzing, shouting muffled by the warm, oozing body above him. What was worse was the pain shooting through his leg, his mouth open in a silent scream and breath coming in short and fast as the venom from the Cazador's stinger slowly crept its way up his thigh. The edges of John's vision started to blur as the noise slowly died down, his leg going numb before he fell into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

❷

"Dave? Is that you!?" Joy was evident in John's expression as he sprinted up to his friend, reaching him and tapping on his shoulder. Why wouldn't he turn around? Was he scared of what he might have thought of him? How did he get here in the first place? "Dave?" John's eyes go wide in horror when the blonde suddenly whipped around, face distorted and decaying, almost like it was melting away from the bone. He tried to scream but Dave was leaping towards him, sending the both of them sprawling on the ground. The scent of flesh and dead things filled his nose as the body on top of him smothered his face, rapid breathing doing nothing to quench the need of oxygen that wasn't getting to his lungs. There was someone saying something, almost distantly, but it wasn't his name. But for some reason, he knew they were calling to him, trying to get his attention, trying to save him.

John's eyes flew open as he jolted awake, sitting up a little too quickly and looking around the unfamiliar dark room he was in. His leg felt like it was on fire, but it was a lot better than it had felt before. He tried to calm his breathing that had been disturbed by that horrible nightmare before his attention was turned to a man sitting in a chair a little ways away, watching him intently. The man finally stood up after a couple moments of silence, walking over to the old, unstable looking bed John was resting on.

The man was older than most of the people he'd seen out there in the wastelands, balding even, welcoming wrinkles pulling on the edges of his lips and around his eyes, a white mustache making up for what he didn't have on his head. Even though he looked elderly, which was amazing in the wasteland itself, the man still moved quick and had a lively spark in his brown eyes. Although it was apparent that he was helping him, there was a wary vibe blocking John from actually putting trust in the man, watching his every movement as he walked around the bed towards the boy's wounded leg.

"The name's Doc Mitchell." He continued to pull away the blanket from John's thigh, not paying attention to the look he was giving him, or if he did notice he just didn't care. It was only when the blanket was being pulled away from his leg that the Egbert actually realized he had been stripped to his undergarments. "I'm the doctor here in this little town we call Goodsprings." He glanced up at him expectantly when he didn't respond.

Well, it was obvious that this guy wasn't going to hurt him. Why would he be helping him unless he wanted to? John decided to give him a chance and nodded his head in greeting, shifting a bit since he was still uncomfortable from sitting there. He suddenly remembered what had happened when the Cazadors attacked him, worry for C.A.S.E.Y. and all his supplies settling in his chest. But above all, he wondered how long he'd been there, and how his friends would react if he hadn't been answering their attempts to contact him.

"How long have I been here?" John's voice sounded so groggy it was like he inhaled oil fumes after running a marathon and sleeping for two weeks straight.

Doc Mitchell took that as an 'I trust you enough for now' and started poking and prodding at the swelling on the boy's thigh. "Not long son. Only been a couple hours since we hauled you into town and brought you here. Those Cazadors got you pretty good. But we got most of the poison outta your system."

"Thank you…" John wondered how many caps, the currency out there in the wasteland, he would have to pay this man. He didn't have much. "Where's my-"

"Your things are over there, if that's what you're asking. That bot that was saving your hide is outside. Doesn't seem to want you outta it's sight." He scooped up a weird paste that was sitting on a small table beside John's bed, smothering it on the heated skin of his wound. He relaxed a bit at the soothing sensation, laying back and blowing out a sigh now that he had wrapped his head around what was going on.

The brunet blinked over at the doctor as he moved away from his bed, pulling up a chair to sit beside him. But instead of focusing his attention on the wound, he pulled out John's pair of glasses from his pocket and handed them to him. He took them gratefully before realizing the lenses were cracked. So much for that scavenging adventure.

"Now I ain't no optometrist, but maybe we should fit you for some glasses while you're here."

"I don't have many caps… I'm not even sure if I can actually-"

"I ain't asking for your caps son. I'm willing to spare a couple hours of my time to save a boy's life instead of blowing it off Gecko hunting. Now, I have spare glasses that the townsfolk have found scavenging around here and brought to me, I'll bring them out and have you try a couple of 'em on." Doc Mitchell smiles reassuringly before standing and moving towards a separate room.

There wasn't much John could say or do but thank him. No matter how much the doctor wanted to convince him that everything he was doing was on the house, a part of the boy was still in debt to him. He just wished this whole thing would have never happened, valuable time he could have spent traveling wasted because of those giant insects.

When the doc came back with a few pairs of glasses he tried them all on until he found a pair that helped him focus even better than his last. One of the coolest things was they were his favorite color, just a little dulled from aging, and with a little adjusting they fit him almost perfectly. He thanked Doc Mitchell once again, to which he nodded his head and gave him a stimpack for the pain in his thigh.

John began to feel hollow, as though he haven't eaten in a really long time, and asked the doc to bring him a can of food from his pouch. From there, they both started up little conversations as he ate, talking about his friends, his goals, and people he's had to deal with in the past. He learned that Doc Mitchell had been to New Vegas before. He had originally been born in and lived in a vault, a place people piled into before the nuclear war to shelter, before breaking out with a couple other of his adventurous friends. Only a few of them had actually made it to the beacon of hope on the horizon, but he soon married his wife and moved to Goodsprings when the two of them became older. She didn't have a great immune system from living in the vault her whole life, and died in Goodsprings. Doc Mitchell had lived there ever since.

It was interesting learning about each other, and he ended up exchanging stories and rumors for a couple hours. All the while, the swelling in John's thigh had gone down to the point it just looked like a giant rash. He asked him if he could test out his leg, and the doctor hesitantly agreed. The boy swung his legs over the side of the bed before carefully getting to his feet, a dull, throbbing pain spreading through his thigh as he started to walk slowly around the room. He quickly got used to it, and although his movements were stiff, he was moving around the room like a pro.

"That's a serious wound, even for someone who's been in bed awhile to heal. It's a wonder you can move at all." Doc Mitchell's voice sounded from the other side of the room, and he turned towards him with a smile.

"At least I can still move. Thanks a lot for your help. I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for you."

The doctor waved his hand through the air as if to swat away his words. "It was my pleasure to help you son. There's not a lot of good people in this world anymore. I'm just glad I could help keep the few that deserve a chance in this wasteland here." He turned to leave, stopping in the doorway. "If you need anything, just give me a holler. I think with the way you're moving now, you'll be able to get out of here by the time morning rolls around."

John nodded and waved as he left, watching him disappear before closing the door behind himself. He stood there for a couple minutes before going over to his supplies, finding his beloved walkie-talkie and grabbing it. The Cazador blood that had drenched his clothes had dried up, and he would have to wash it later. Once he was sitting on the edge of his bed, he pressed the button on the side of the device, holding it up to his face to speak.

"Jade? Are you there?"

There was a couple moments of static before she answered. "John! Hey! I tried to talk to you earlier but nothing was going through. I thought you must have been in trouble or something." The worry was unmistakable in her voice.

"I ran into some Cazadors. But I'm okay now. I didn't get much traveling done today." For a moment he hesitated to tell her anything that had happened in case she went and worried the other two, but decided it was best not to keep her in the blue. After explaining the whole situation there was a couple moments of silence between the both of them.

"But you promise you're okay now, right?" She really was worried about him.

"I swear on my last bottle of Nuka-Cola." He chuckled stupidly into the receiver. "I'm in a little town called Goodsprings. Their doctor patched me up and everything. I'm alright, really."

"Okay John. I believe you. Just promise me you'll be careful, okay?"

"Yeah. I will."

"Good. Now… What was the name of the town you're in?"

"Uh… Goodsprings."

There was another moment of silence, and he could imagine her thinking about the names of towns she'd passed through. It was almost as if a wave of excitement crashed into him when her voice sounded on the other end of the talkie again. "John! I've been through there before!"


	3. Chapter 3

❸

It turns out that Jade had been through Goodsprings a couple days ago. She tried to convince John to just wait there while she back tracked and went back to the town, but he told her it would be faster if he met her halfway. They both ended the conversation happily with plans to rest and start off in the morning, but John was pretty sure it would be impossible to get any sleep tonight with all the excitement of finally getting to meet one of his friends. He had always considered Jade as the sister he's never had, and now he would both have company traveling all the way to New Vegas to meet the other two.

Rose contacted him shortly after he ended the call with Jade to say goodnight and see if he was alright, giving him the chance to speak to her and tell her the plan he had made with Jade. She thought it was an excellent plan, and said something about her and Dave doing something similar. The only problem was that Dave was farther away from Rose compared to how far away Jade was to John. The other boy had decided to stay put and wait while Rose caught up to him in a little town called Novac. After talking about the separate plans for a little bit and overall agreeing it was probably the best to travel with more than one person, John asked Rose to say good luck to the Strider before parting with her.

Those conversations went pretty well, and a wide smile had crossed his face after he stuffed his walkie-talkie back inside its pouch. John was so close to meeting all of his friends, so close to getting to New Vegas, it was almost like his excitement was going to bubble over. As much as he knew it would be in vain, he needed to get some rest. Before the Egbert could get back into bed, he walked towards a door that led to a small bathroom. Of course, most of the things were rusting and old, but it was better looking than most of the corroding bathrooms he's been in.

There was no running water, as was to be expected, but Doc Mitchell explained how there was a purified water well just outside the town that most of the people went to. Someone had cleared Geckos out of there recently, so it was safe to just go help himself to the supply if he had the bottles to collect it with. Being an expert scavenger, John always had a couple empty bottles on hand for just the occasion. He would have to check out the well in the morning, not to mention get some supplies from the townsfolk around Goodsprings.

John set the bottle he had brought into the bathroom with him on the sink as he looked into the mirror, studying his dirt ridden face compared to the newer looking glasses the doctor had given him. His hair was messier than it usually was and small tufts were sticking out here and there, but he did look a lot more rested than he has in a while. The blue of the glasses he had on seemed nothing compared with the dark shades of cyan in his irises, it making his appearance look all the more younger. It was hard to tell exactly how old he was since he had lost track of time, but he was pretty sure he was in his late teens, a light stubble starting to cover his chin in some places. The goof thought about growing a mustache like Doc Mitchell, a small giggle rising in his chest.

The night was starting to draw out, and tiredness was beginning to wash over him as he did what he came into the bathroom to do. After scrubbing most of the dirt off his face and using the rest of the water he had to wash out his hair, he patted himself dry and exited the bathroom. John looked around for his clothes, which the doctor had stripped from him besides his undergarments, and spotted them on a table on the other side of the room. He thought about putting them on, but only ended up throwing on his shirt, not wanting to irritate the wound on his thigh just yet. Thankfully the clothes that had been Cazador blood stained the day he was wounded had been cleaned to the best of the Doc's abilities.

Soon he was under the blankets that had been provided to him before, curling onto his side and making sure there was no chance he was going to roll over on his other leg. It wasn't long before he had drifted off, all the stress and worries and the pain that he had experience only in the span of those few hours melting away as he fell into a light sleep.

(( Little author's note here: I'm really busy with school related things so this chapter is just a little something before I can start getting further into the story. I'm not sure when I'll be able to update next, but I'll try to as soon as I can! Hope you all enjoy! ))


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